s Lt. Paul Nicolas stood on the forward edge of the poop deck of H.M.S. Belleisle, a
74-gun ship of the line, the only thing he could think of was lying down.
SIt wasn't that he was tired. But he was only 16 and new to the ship. Now
he was about to get his first taste of battle. It was shortly after midday on October 21,
1805, near Cadiz in southern Spain. As Belleisle plowed slowly toward the enemy,
Nicolas could see a crescent-shaped line of 33 French and Spanish ships stretching for
miles along the coast from Cape Roche in the north to Cape Trafalgar in the south.
Belleisle's crew was in boisterous spirits. They'd been waiting more than two months
to have a go at Johnny Crapaud, as they called the French. The gunners had chalked
"Victory or Death" on their cannon. Earlier that morning the ship's band had played
56 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC * OCTOBER 2005
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ARTLIBRARY